The Horror Revolution: First off, what’s your favorite horror movie? What movie scared you the most?
Graham Hughes: Ooh, two different answers here. The Thing is probably my favourite horror movie, it’s just endlessly rewatchable and so cozy. The movie that scared me the most is Lake Mungo. I was living alone at the time and had to call my then-girlfriend right after it finished to calm myself down.
THR: Hostile Dimensions was rad as hell, a really interesting and unique exploration of multiple dimensions through a horror lens. What inspired the film?
GH: Thank you! We need to put “rad as hell” on the next poster. The inspiration came from two places. The first was pragmatism, based around the budget. I knew I wanted my flat to be the central location, similar to my previous film Death of a Vlogger. I knew I wanted to use a lot of the same cast. But I also wanted to have a way to get the characters out of the flat, which is where the door/portals idea came from. The other half of inspiration was from my emotional state at the time, getting completely overwhelmed and feeling helpless at the crumbling state of the world. So the idea of whether to give up and enjoy my privilege, or to keep banging my head against the wall trying to make the world a better place, that was the key emotional conflict of the film for me.
THR: It’s so hard with a film like this to keep your timelines coherent enough for viewers while also progressing the story in a logical way, even if the plot itself might be illogical. How did you address this challenge with Hostile Dimensions to ensure that everything made sense?
GH: There was a bit of the Blumhouse “one scare every ten minutes” kind of structure here for me. So moving the plot forward with one scene, then moving the story forward with the next. And I think as long as the characters are logical and approach the environments with relatable reactions, the dimensions themselves don’t need to make any sense at all. They just need to be interesting in some way, and ideally reflect the characters’ states of mind. Especially once we suggest that the worlds they visit are a product of their subconscious or conscious thoughts at the time they open the door.
THR: This is part two of an intended “trilogy” of films, with part one being Death of a Vlogger. Was this always intended, and what are your plans for the third film in the series?
GH: This absolutely was not intended from the start. I had no idea we would find an audience with Death of a Vlogger, so that was a pretty big surprise to me. And Hostile Dimensions moved really quickly, I went from first idea to completed film within a year. But I love found footage, and I’m having a lot of fun playing in that world. It would feel like a loose thread to not go for one more and complete a trilogy. So yeah, it’s a thematic trilogy with the common links being, all three are found footage of some kind, all horror, all share a lot of the same cast and all have a predominant setting in my flat. I’m writing the third installment now and hoping to get to work soon.
THR: What the hell is up with Pandamonium?! That was like out of a child’s nightmare!
GH: That came out of not being able to find my first location choice and it was a nice accidental upgrade. I was trying to find a backrooms kind of plain white space of connecting rooms and hallways, but it was really difficult to find. I was looking at a lot of liminal horror Instagram accounts and swimming pools come up a lot, so I thought soft plays would lend well to that aesthetic too. I’d always planned on there being a bear monster, but it just so happened that the soft play we booked was called Pandamonium and they already had a panda suit that their staff wear. So I just asked if we could put an actor in it and they were game!
THR: You both wrote and directed the film, and even had a part in the film. What is your favorite part of the filmmaking process? Does writing the script make the direction easier, or is it more challenging knowing what you envision and having to make it come to life?
GH: I’ve never directed anyone else’s writing, so can’t say whether it’s easier or not. But writing and editing are definitely my two favourite parts. Both have a sort of freedom to them, and not as much pressure as anything that happens in production. Problems can be solved easier and with less stress, so those are the two that I like most. I also like being alone with my thoughts, so again, editing and writing lend themselves to that.
THR: If you could work with anyone in the industry, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
GH: I think maybe Philip Glass. Music is so crucial to film, and his work is always so authored and recognisable, for me his music is often more iconic than the film it’s in.
THR: Is horror your preferred genre to work within? Are there any other genres that intrigue you?
GH: Currently horror is being kind to me. The way I usually put it though, is that horror is my passion, but cinema is my life. I would love the chance to make other genres. My first two films were a teen comedy and a comedy drama respectively, but I’d love to make an action film, a thriller, all sorts. But if I never break out of the horror space that’s no great tragedy, as it’s such a wide genre I’ll be able to tell any story I want within those confines.
THR: What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited to talk about?
GH: The aforementioned final 3/1 Trilogy film is being written as we speak, currently titled The Manipulator. But I’ve been working with our sales agents, Blue Finch, to finance a not-found-footage horror film called Executor. It’s a contained supernatural chiller, and we’re pretty far along the process. It’s slow-moving and mostly out of my control though, so hoping we get that locked down soon.
THR: Finally, if you happened across a wolf door of your own, what would be the absolute worst thing you could find on the other side?
GH: My perfect world.
